Stool specimen test kit

ABSTRACT

A stool specimen test kit, including; a generally-flat support means of a size and shape to fit over the bowl of a toilet and to be held in such position by the seat of the toilet; a perforated section in the support adapted to be punched out to form a centrally-disposed opening therein; a plastic container of a size and shape to fit in the opening of the support and having at least two closure flaps adapted to be folded outwardly to lie flat on the support and suspend the container in the opening of the support; and sealing means on the flaps of the container to seal the container after use.

[451 Dec. 4, 1973 Roberts, Jr.

[ STOOL SPECIMEN TEST KIT 3,486,172 12/1969 Glaichart 4 1 1 1 [76]lnventor: Timothy Roberts, Jr., SSN 7] 0/1969 Nocm et al 4/142398-14-4349 USAlD/CSO APO Przmary EXGMlIleF-HCHI')! K. Artis SanFrancisco, Calif. 96243 Att0mey JameS E Bryan [22] Filed: Nov. 23, 197157 ABSTR T [21] Appl. No.: 201,287 I A stool specimen test kit,including; a generally-flat Relat d 13- Application a support means of asize and shape to fit over the bowl [63] COntinuafiOn-in-paft of Ser, N159,263, Md 2 of a toilet and to be held in such position by the seat1971, abandoned. of the toilet; a perforated section in the supportadapted to be punched out to form a centrally- [52] 3.8. CI 4/1, 4/110,4/141 disposed opening therein; a plastic container of a size [51] Int.Cl A87k 17/00 and shape to fit in the opening of the support and hav-[58] Field of Search 4/ 1, 6, 110, 141, ing at least two closure flapsadapted to be folded out 4/11 1, 142, 135, 1 12 wardly to lieflat on thesupport and suspend the container in the opening of the support; andsealing [56] References Cited means on the flaps of the container toseal the con- UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/ 1971 Nagal 4/1 tainer after use.

8 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures INVENTOR F/Q 6 Q Q 42 TIMOTHY RQBERTS JR.

Owd

TQRNEY STOOL SPECIMEN TEST KIT CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONThe present Application is a Continuation-in-Part of application Ser.No. 159,268, filed on July 2, 1971 by the present inventor, nowabandoned.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a stoolspecimen test kit. More specifically, the present invention relates to astool specimen test kit adapted to be placed over the bowl of a toiletand held in position thereon by means of the seat of the toilet.

At times, during medical diagnosis, it is necessary for a patient tosupply astool specimen for laboratory testing. The most common methodsof obtaining such a specimen is either to have the patient hold acontainer or retrieve a specimen from a toilet with a stick or otherinstrument. These methods, obviously, are embarrassing to the patientand have an undesirable psychological affect on him, particularly, wherethe patient is old or infirm or is a child and it is necessary to have anurse, relative or other person assist the patient.

The present invention overcomes these problems by providing a simpletest kit'which is inexpensive, easy to utilize and causes none of theembarrassment of the i techniques referred to above. In addition, thetest kit of with a generally I-I-shaped, perforated section, which isadapted to be punched out to form a centrally-disposed aperture in thesupport, with the'punched out flaps depending downwardly. The othermajor component of thetest kit is an opaque, plastic container which isof sufficient flexibility to be compressed or folded into a flatconfiguration. When thus folded in this flat configuration, thecontainer can be attached to the support by means of adhesive or othersuitable attaching means so that, during shipping and storage of thetest kit, a compact, flat unit is provided.

In use, the perforated section of the support is punched out and the twoflaps folded downwardly to provide a generally-rectangular opening toreceive the plastic container. The plastic container is then removedfrom the base-orsupport and is unfolded to form a container, which ispreferably of a box-type configuration.

The configuration and size of the container is such that it will fitthrough the opening in the support with the body of the containerdepending downwardly below the support. The container is provided withat least two closure flaps which are adapted to be folded outwardly andlie flat against the top of the support to thereby suspend the body ofthe container through the opening in the support.

The thus assembled support and container are then placed over the toiletbowl and the lid of the toilet is lowered over the test kit unit tofirmly hold the same in place while a stool specimen is being obtained.

Once the specimen has been obtained, the plastic container is removedfrom the support, and the support may be disposed of in any suitablewaste receptacle.

The container is alsoprovid'ed with an appropriate sealingmeans to sealthe closure flaps'and thus close the container for transport to alaboratory or other testing location. The sealing means of the containermay include a wide ,variety of sealing structures, such as, a

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows the test kit of thepresent invention while in condition for shipping or storage;

FIG. 2 shows the test kit with an opening formed in the support; 7

FIG. 3 shows the test kit with the container positioned in the support;

FIG. 4 shows the assembled test kit bowl of a toilet; I

FIG. 5 shows the container sealed and ready for transport to alaboratory; I

FIG. 6' shows a closure means for the container; FIG. 7 shows analternate closure means for the con-:

tainer; and

FIG. 8 shows a zipper-type closurefor the container.

FIG. 1 of the drawings shows the test kit of the present Application incondition for storage or'shipping and before use. The test kit comprisestwo majorcomponents, namely; a disposable support means 10 and a plasticcontainer means 12. Disposable support 10 is shaped and is approximatelyof a size to fit over and be supported by the bowl of a standard toiletand to be firmly held in place by the seat of the toilet. Support 10 hassufficient rigidity to support the container 12 when container 12 isplaced in position for use. Consequently, the support 10 maybe madeoffiberboard, paperboard, corrugated paperboard, etc. In any event, it isdesirable that the support 10 be made of a relatively inexpensivematerial so long as it has sufficient rigidity to support the container12. Support 10 is perforated in a generally H-shaped configuration alonglines 14, 16 and 18 and is hinged along lines 20 and 22 to form a pairof flaps 24 and 26 when the perforated portions are punched out.Container 12 is preferably made of a in position on the reasonablyflexible plastic material so that it can befolded as shown in FIG. 1 andtemporarily attached to the support 10 by an adhesive or other means ofattachment.

FIG. 2 of the drawings shows support 10 with the perforated portionspunched out to form downwardly depending flaps 24 and 26. Thecentrally-disposed opening 28 thus formed in support 10 should beapproximately 8 inches by 7 inches.

FIG. 3 of the drawings shows the support 10 and the container 12 whenthey are assembled into a unit for use in obtaining a stool specimen.Specifically, container 12 is removed from its temporary attachment onsupport 10 and is unfolded to form a container 12 having a box-shapedbody portion 30 having dimensions of approximately 8 inches by 7 inchesby 4 inches in depth. This body portion is, of course, of a size andshape to pass through opening 28 in support 10. Box 30 is provided withappropriate closure flaps 32 and 34, respectively. Closure flaps 32 arenot absolutely necessary to the construction and therefore can beeliminated if desired. However, flaps 32 are of aid in providing a tightclosure of container 12. Flaps 34 are, however, necessary to theconstruction to the extent that they are adapted to fold outwardly andrest against the top of support to thereby hold the container 12 in theopening 28 insupport 10. As previously indicated, container 12 is madeof a suitable plastic material and should be, of a character such thatit can be ultimately disposed of. Thus, container 12 should be formedfrom relatively inexpensive plastic material. Container 12 should alsohave sufficient flexibility to be folded flat for storage and shipping.By the same token, container 12 should have sufficientrigidity to besupported by support 10 until it is placed in position on the toilet foractual use. Thereafter, the container 12 will also be firmly held inposition by the toilet seat. Flaps 34 of container 12 are provided withan appropriate sealing means 36 which may take a variety of forms, suchas, a pressure sealing adhesive, a zipper-type sealing means, etc. Ifdesired, a pressure sealing adhesive can be applied to the tops of flaps34 to provide a light adhesive contact with support 10. In thisembodiment, flaps 34 can be made slightly longer than necessary to closethe top of container 12. The adhesive surfaces can then be removed fromsupport 10, folded inwardly to abut the adhesive surfaces and sealed byfolding portions of the flaps 34 downwardly, thus forming an upstandingseal along the edges of the flaps. This embodiment of the invention alsomakes it possible to utilize a more flexible plastic to form thecontainer, since rigidity is not necessary to hold the container inplace on the support until the toilet seat is lowered.

As indicated in FIG. 4, support 10 is positioned over the bowl 38 of aconventional toilet with container 12 supported thereon by means of theflaps 34 and 36 and having the box portion 30 of container 12 dependingdownwardly into the toilet how] 38. After thus positioning support 10and container 12 over the bowl 38 of the toilet, the seat 40 of thetoilet is closed to firmly hold support 10 and container 12 in place.After the stool specimen has been obtained, the seat 40 is lifted andthe container 12 is removed from support 10. Support 10 may then bedisposed of in any suitable waste receptacle.

The container 12, containing the stool specimen, is then closed by firstclosing flaps 34 and thereafter, flaps v 36 as shown in FIG. 5 of thedrawings. In FIG. 5 of the drawings, the flaps 36 are shown as closed bya pressure sealing adhesive means 36.

A zipper-type sealing means 42, made of plastic, can also be provided.The zipper-type sealing means 42 is conveniently an interlocking-type asshown in FIG. 6 of 4. the drawings. Such interlocking plasticzipper-type closures can be pressed together by hand and interlocked inthis fashion orthey may have a traveler which actu;

ally presses the interlocking portions of the zipper together.

An alternate type of interlocking plastic zipper is shown in FIG. 7 ofthe drawings wherein the interlocking portions of the zipper 44 are flatand are closed by means of a traveler.

FIG. 8 of the drawings shows a traveler 46 in place over the twoportions of zipper 44. Traveler 46 is designed to accommodate the twosections of the interlocking plastic zipper 44 and operates by having acentral section 48 which is wedge or V-shaped so that the two openings50 of the traveler 46 merge into a single opening at the rear of thetraveler 46. The traveler 46 is provided with an appropriate pull tab52. The traveler 46 may also be made of a suitable plastic material.

What is claimed is i l. A stool specimen test kit, comprising; agenerallyflat, support means of a size and shape to fit over and besupported by the bowl of a toilet and held in place by the seat of saidtoilet; a centrally-disposed, perforated section formed in said supportadapted to be punched out to form an opening in said support; acontainer having a body of a size and shape to pass through said openingin said support; at least two closure flaps formed on the top of saidcontainer, adapted to be bent outwardly and lie flat against the top ofsaid support to hold said container in place in said support, and havinga length sufficient to be itself held in place by said seat of saidtoilet; and sealing means on said flaps adapted to seal said containerwhen said flaps are bent inwardly to close said container.

2. A test kit in accordance with claim 1 wherein the support means is athin sheet of fiberboard.

3. A test kit in accordance with claim 1 wherein the opening in thesupport means is generally-rectangular in shape.

4. A test kit in accordance with claim 3 wherein the body of thecontainer is of box-type configuration.

5. A test kit in accordance with claim 3 wherein the perforated sectionof the support means is perforated in an H-shaped configuration.

6. A test kit in accordance with claim 1 wherein the container is arelatively-flexible plastic material adapted to be folded into agenerally-flat configuration.

7. A test kit in accordance with claim 1 wherein the sealing means is azipper-type sealing means.

8. A test kit in accordance with claim 6 wherein the sealing meansis'formed of plastic.

1. A stool specimen test kit, comprising; a generally-flat, supportmeans of a size and shape to fit over and be supported by the bowl of atoilet and held in place by the seat of said toilet; acentrally-disposed, perforated section formed in said support adapted tobe punched out to form an opening in said support; a container having abody of a size and shape to pass through said opening in said support;at least two closure flaps formed on thE top of said container, adaptedto be bent outwardly and lie flat against the top of said support tohold said container in place in said support, and having a lengthsufficient to be itself held in place by said seat of said toilet; andsealing means on said flaps adapted to seal said container when saidflaps are bent inwardly to close said container.
 2. A test kit inaccordance with claim 1 wherein the support means is a thin sheet offiberboard.
 3. A test kit in accordance with claim 1 wherein the openingin the support means is generally-rectangular in shape.
 4. A test kit inaccordance with claim 3 wherein the body of the container is of box-typeconfiguration.
 5. A test kit in accordance with claim 3 wherein theperforated section of the support means is perforated in an H-shapedconfiguration.
 6. A test kit in accordance with claim 1 wherein thecontainer is a relatively-flexible plastic material adapted to be foldedinto a generally-flat configuration.
 7. A test kit in accordance withclaim 1 wherein the sealing means is a zipper-type sealing means.
 8. Atest kit in accordance with claim 6 wherein the sealing means is formedof plastic.